Buddhist Theocracy
Rule by a Buddhist monastic hierarchy, with reincarnated leaders and monasteries dominating politics and land, traditional order and moral precepts as law, as in the Tibet of the Dalai Lama before 1950.
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In one sentence
I want a society ruled by the sangha, with reincarnated lamas in command, the five precepts as law and the traditional order above elections.
Political topics
Profile across mindedfolk
- Leaning · Unitary
Structure
- Very strong · Autocracy
Representation
- Strong · Security
Power
- Strong · Assimilation
Immigration
- Strong · Internationalist
Nationalism
- Leaning · Private
Economy
- Leaning · Planning
Free market
- Very strong · Religious
Religion
- Strong · Traditionalist
Morality
- Very strong · Biology
Technology
What sets this ideology apart
Religion
Leans further toward religious than 95% of the 263 ideologies in the catalog.
Ideology median 61This ideology 6
Of all the topics, Religion is where it stands furthest from the rest.
Structure
On Structure, it sits practically at the catalog median.
Ideology median 38This ideology 38
Here it shares common ground with most ideologies.
Personalities
13th Dalai Lama (Thubten Gyatso)
Head of theocratic Tibet, the 13th Dalai Lama expelled the Chinese and proclaimed independence in 1913, built an army, post and currency, backed down before the monasteries by closing the English school, and warned against communism in 1932.
Closest, by dimension
PoliticallyMartin HeideggerPhilosopher88%
SociallyJulius EvolaPhilosopher94%
EconomicallyJulius CaesarMilitary leader100%
Other compatible profiles
PhilosophyPlatoPhilosopher87%
Political theoryPentti LinkolaRadical ecologist84%
PhilosophySocratesPhilosopher84%
PoliticsNorodom SihanoukKing and statesman82%
PoliticsAshokaMaurya emperor80%
PoliticsMarshal Deodoro da FonsecaMilitary officer and statesman80%
PhilosophyAristotlePhilosopher78%
PhilosophyOswald SpenglerGerman philosopher and historian77%
The most distant
Countries
Reference country
Theocratic Tibet
1913–1950A de facto independent state between the fall of the Qing and the Chinese invasion, Tibet was a Buddhist theocracy ruled by the Dalai Lama, with monasteries and aristocracy owning the land, peasants bound to it and deliberate isolation from the modern world.
Other close countries
Bhutan
Buddhist-conservationist monarchyA small Himalayan kingdom, Bhutan combines a Buddhist constitutional monarchy, strong protection of traditional culture and nature, and Gross National Happiness as its compass of government, with cautious openness to the outside world.
Also close, by dimension
PoliticallyCambodiaDominant-party dynastic autocracy83%
SociallyMyanmarBuddhist military junta86%
EconomicallyRwandaAuthoritarian developmental state96%
The most distant
Theocratic Tibet
1913–1950A de facto independent state between the fall of the Qing and the Chinese invasion, Tibet was a Buddhist theocracy ruled by the Dalai Lama, with monasteries and aristocracy owning the land, peasants bound to it and deliberate isolation from the modern world.
Also close, by dimension
PoliticallyTokugawa Japan1603–186892%
SociallyAncient Egyptc. 3100–30 BCE92%
EconomicallyMeiji Japan1868–1912100%
The most distant
Ideological proximity
Close ideologies
Closest within Far-Right
- Far-Right
Aristocratism
Doctrine of rule by the best, which entrusts power to a minority qualified by virtue, education or birth, rejecting political equality and majority rule, which it sees as a risk to competence.
- Far-Right
Platonism
Plato's political philosophy, entrusting the city's government to a philosophical elite formed by virtue and knowledge, with strong control over education, property and customs in the name of justice and social harmony.
- Far-Right
Reactionaryism
Stance that rejects modernity and seeks to restore the pre-revolutionary order, defending monarchy, religion, tradition, and hierarchy against Enlightenment rationalism, liberalism, and democracy.
Closest in other spectrums
- Right
Confucianism
Doctrine that grounds political order in the ruler's virtue, ritual hierarchy and filial piety, favouring bureaucratic merit and moral education over coercive law or popular participation.
- Third Position
Eco-Fascism
Current that joins radical ecology, authoritarianism and organic nationalism, defending population control, environmental preservation imposed by the state and the subordination of individual liberties to the survival of the national community.
- Right
Buddhist Nationalism
Current that joins ethnic identity and Theravada Buddhist faith and sees the nation as guardian of the Dharma, wary of the influence of other communities, as in Sinhalese nationalism in Sri Lanka and monk movements such as Ma Ba Tha and 969 in Myanmar.
The most distant ideology
Techno-AnarchismAnarchist27%